abbott comes up big in nationals

Figure skating

U.S. Championships

On the air: Ch. 7/39 1 p.m.; 9 p.m. (delayed)

SAN JOSE 
Jeremy Abbott was right when he said he was the one to beat, taking a commanding lead at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Friday night with a short program that would hold its own against anyone in the world.

Abbott’s easy, breezy performance to a swing medley scored a whopping 90.23 points, a personal best and a mark that puts him in world champion Patrick Chan’s territory.

Earlier Friday, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the first U.S. team to win a world ice dance title, easily won the short dance.

Their score of 76.89 is sure to get the world’s attention.

Not only was it four-plus points ahead of Maia and Alex Shibutani, last year’s U.S. runners-up and the surprise bronze medalists at the world championships, but it’s well ahead of what the best of the rest has been able to do, too.

Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the closest thing Davis and White have to competition these days, scored 68.41 at the Canadian championships earlier this month — though that was with a major error.

The top teams at this week’s European championships struggled just to crack 65 points.

Also Friday, Michelle Kwan was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.